The crew was still loading out under the arena\u2019s harsh dock lights when a knock echoed on the tour bus door.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Diesel raised an eyebrow and popped it open\u2014only to blink in surprise as Eli Masters<\/strong> himself stood there, guitar case slung over one shoulder and a slightly nervous smile behind his sunglasses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cEvenin\u2019. That fuzzy bass beast of yours in?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Diesel snorted. \u201cSure is. Come on in, rock god.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Inside, the lights were dim and cozy\u2014quiet hum of road fans, the scent of post-show sweat and leftover pizza. Gabriel was curled sideways on the couch in a half-dried towel and a fresh hoodie, sipping cold brew straight from the bottle. His ears perked up at the sound of boots on the stairs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He looked up\u2014and froze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c\u2026You came here,\u201d he said, stunned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Eli grinned. \u201cYou dragged me on stage. Thought I\u2019d return the favor and drag you into a conversation.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gabriel jumped to his paws, tail swishing wildly. \u201cDUDE. I grew up on Skyfire and Sand!<\/em> You\u2019re, like\u2014you\u2019re it.<\/em> Your tone, your stage presence, those harmonics\u2014man, you shaped<\/em> my whole idea of what power onstage looks like.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Eli raised an eyebrow, grinning. \u201cI thought you played guitar first?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gabriel laughed. \u201cI did. And then I realized I didn\u2019t wanna chase your solos\u2014I wanted to anchor<\/em> ’em. You showed me what a real lead sounds like\u2026 and made me want to hold that down from the low end.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Eli leaned back with a low whistle. \u201cYou know\u2026 a lotta guitarists never learn to respect<\/em> the anchor. But you? You\u2019re the kind of bassist I always wished I had behind me. Solid. Loud. Makes the whole damn room feel<\/em> the note, not just hear it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPlayers like you? You’re the spine of the song, kid. The rest of us are just decoration.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gabriel froze for half a second, ears twitching\u2026 then tried to play it cool while absolutely beaming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thane, walking by again, deadpanned, \u201cGreat. Now his ego\u2019s gonna need its own bunk.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gabriel actually looked like he might melt into the couch. His claws flexed nervously on the cold brew bottle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thane poked his head in from the kitchenette, raised an eyebrow, and casually offered a cold can to Eli. \u201cHe\u2019s not gonna shut up about this for days.<\/em> You just wrecked our peace.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cGood,\u201d Eli said with a grin, cracking the can. \u201cHe deserves to be loud.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The two sat down across from each other \u2014 Gabriel on the edge of his seat, tail curled tightly, Eli kicking off his boots and setting his guitar case between them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHey,\u201d Gabriel asked suddenly, lowering his voice. \u201cWas I\u2026 okay? Like, did I hold my own up there?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Eli blinked. \u201cOkay?<\/em> Kid, you dragged me onstage in the middle of your set, didn\u2019t blink, didn\u2019t flinch, didn\u2019t miss.<\/em> You knew the song. You adapted. And you didn\u2019t step on my solo \u2014 which is more than I can say for some<\/em> of my own bandmates.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gabriel\u2019s ears tilted back in a bashful smile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019ve been doing this for decades,\u201d Eli said, softer now. \u201cAnd tonight? That was the first time in a long time I remembered why I started.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The room went quiet for a second.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then Gabriel \u2014 never one to stay in his feels too long \u2014 grinned and blurted, \u201cYou wanna sign my tail?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Eli blinked. \u201cWait, what?<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gabriel laughed and snorted at the same time. \u201cKidding. Kidding. Mostly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The two dissolved into laughter as Thane rolled his eyes, walking past them with a muttered, \u201cI will<\/em> mute both of you during line check tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Eli raised his can in a toast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTo new wolves. Old roads. And the night we burned El Paso down.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gabriel raised his bottle to meet it with a clink.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHell yeah, old man. Let\u2019s do it again sometime.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Eli reached down beside his guitar case and pulled out a worn, slightly scuffed vintage guitar pick<\/strong>\u2014black, with a faded gold Iron Reign logo printed across the front and \u201cTour \u201894\u201d hand-scratched into the back with a knife or key.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He held it out to Gabriel between two fingers. \u201cThis one\u2019s been through hell. First stadium tour I ever played. It\u2019s yours now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gabriel\u2019s jaw dropped. \u201cYou serious?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAs a heart attack,\u201d Eli said with a grin. \u201cYou\u2019ve earned it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gabriel took it carefully, like it might melt in his claws if he wasn\u2019t gentle. His eyes flicked over the worn edges, the history etched into it. \u201cI\u2019m framing this. And guarding it with my life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Eli stood, slinging his case over his shoulder. \u201cThen we\u2019re good. Just don\u2019t let me catch you auctioning it on some werewolf merch site.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOnly if I\u2019m broke and need new strings,<\/em>\u201d Gabriel joked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Eli chuckled and made his way toward the bus stairs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Just as he was about to step down, a sudden squeal<\/strong> erupted from the stairwell\u2014high-pitched, frantic, and very human.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOh. My. GOD.<\/em> I KNEW<\/em> he was still in here \u2014 GABRIEL SIGN MY FACE!!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n A rabid fan had somehow snuck onto the bus.<\/strong> Mid-twenties, wearing half of a thrifted wolf onesie, waving a Sharpie like a battle flag. She launched forward, arms outstretched, eyes locked on Gabriel like a guided missile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before anyone else could move, Thane stepped forward, expression instantly deadpan<\/strong>, and scooped her up by the waist<\/strong> like he was lifting a grocery bag.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNope.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She flailed dramatically. \u201cWait! WAIT! This is destiny!! He needs to sign my hair!!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNope.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He carried her calmly down the stairs\u2014her arms windmilling, her howls muffled only by sheer bafflement\u2014straight back out the bus door, past Diesel, and deposited her gently just outside the barricade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As she blinked in disbelief, Thane simply growled, \u201cOutside. Stay.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then turned on his heel and walked calmly back aboard like nothing had happened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Inside the bus, the room was silent.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Eli raised both eyebrows. \u201c…Do I get an escort like that too, or\u2026?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gabriel was doubled over, laughing so hard he had to clutch the table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thane returned to his spot by the fridge, cracked open a new can, and muttered:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSome of y\u2019all forget I don\u2019t have<\/em> security. I am<\/em> security.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The crew was still loading out under the arena\u2019s harsh dock lights when a knock echoed on the tour bus door. Diesel raised an eyebrow and popped it open\u2014only to blink in surprise as Eli Masters himself stood there, guitar case slung over one shoulder and a slightly nervous smile behind his sunglasses. \u201cEvenin\u2019. That […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1051","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tour-life"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1051","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1051"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1051\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3097,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1051\/revisions\/3097"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1051"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1051"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1051"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}